Chicago Bears linebacker Roquan Smith made it clear heading into the 2022 regular season that he’s looking to sign a hefty new contract in the future, whether it be with the Bears or another team.
Smith, who was ranked No. 84 on the NFL’s top 100 players of 2022 list, wants to set the market for inside linebackers. In an August 9 appearance on 670 The Score’s Parkins & Spiegel Show, Ian Rapoport of the NFL Network said that Smith was asking for more money than the current highest-paid LB in the league, Shaquille Leonard of the Indianapolis Colts.
Leonard signed a five-year, $98.5 million extension with the Colts this year, and his average salary equates to $19.7 million per season, according to Over the Cap.
While Smith is currently tied for the league lead in tackles (54), he has made some noticeable mistakes, missing tackles on key plays against the New York Giants Week 4 and the Minnesota Vikings the following week. After Chicago’s 29-22 loss to Minnesota, multiple analysts called Smith out for his lackluster play, with some noting that if he wants to re-set the linebacker market, he’ll need to play better than he has been.
Roquan Smith Called Out for Recent Missed Tackles
Smith had a dominant game at Soldier Field Week 3 in the Bears’ 23-20 win over the Houston Texans, finishing with 16 total tackles (two for loss) and a clutch interception with 1:10 left in the fourth quarter that ultimately led to a game-winning field goal by Bears kicker Cairo Santos.
The fifth-year linebacker hasn’t looked great since that game, however.
In Chicago’s Week 4 loss to the Giants, Smith whiffed badly on a key third-down in the fourth quarter when he had backup QB Tyrod Taylor in the backfield for what would have been a loss, but missed the tackle instead.
Those mistakes rolled over to the next game, at least for Smith, who once again failed to wrap up a player in the backfield in what turned out to be a huge play. With over seven minutes to go in the second quarter, Vikings wide receiver Jalen Reagor took a toss from quarterback Kirk Cousins in for a score, but Smith could have stopped him for a loss. Instead, he got juked.
Lorin Cox of Locked on Bears called Smith out for the play.
Cox wasn’t the only one to call Smith out, either. Analyst Joseph Herff noted that while Smith has been a tackling machine like in years past, that doesn’t matter much if the LB can’t make impact plays on a regular basis.
He’s tied for the lead with Zaire Franklin who became a starter in his 5th year in the NFL. Tackles means nothing especially when you’re getting a tackle after not filling your gap.
Blake Martinez was always near the top in tackles every single season for that exact reason.
Roquan Smith’s 2022 Stats Aren’t Great
According to PFF, Smith already has six missed tackles over his first five games, which isn’t ideal. Just two of his 54 tackles have been for loss, and he has 1.0 sacks and two QB hurries. He has been decent in coverage, but he needs to clean up both his pass rush and run-stopping efforts.
To his credit, he knows it.
“We got to get better,” Smith said after the loss to New York, via NBC Sports. “We got to look ourselves in the mirror and just grow from it. There were obviously a lot of mistakes on our behalf to look at and clean up, myself included.”
He’ll need to start erasing those mistakes soon if he wants to make Shaq Leonard-type money.
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Bears LB Roquan Smith Called Out After Loss to Vikings